Eternal Light
by PhoenixLady
Summary: Before the Saiyans go to Earth to find Goku, they're sent on another mission...
1. Chapter 1

Eternal Light  


    A lone warrior prince stalks through the long, cold corridors of a spaceship. He moves sleekly, his muscles flexing underneath the blue spandex of his uniform. One destination is set deep in his mind; the Observatory, where his "master" is residing. 

    Even though his age is young and his stature small, the other warriors of Freeza know not to step into the prince's path. His powers and skills are rarely outmatched, and his arrogant pride can lead to fatal consequences for his rivals. 

    He steps into the Observatory, seeing Freeza in his hover chair, looking out into the dark vastness of space. Easily, the "master" senses the newcomer's presence. "You'll never know the great rapture that comes from holding an entire universe in the palm of your hand, Vegeta. Only the feeling of knowing you barely helped me in gaining this control will be in your grasp, little Saiyan." 

    Vegeta glowers at the back of Freeza's head, as thoughts of overthrowing and destroying Freeza race through his head. _One day, I will destroy you, Freeza, and take my rightful place as supreme ruler. It is my destiny_. 

    "I have a task for you, Vegeta." Freeza's hover chair rotates slowly, lowering to the ground, and facing the Saiyan Prince. "I want you to convince the people of Torinosu to follow under my reign. You know what to do if they refuse our offer, of course. With or without their allegiance, the planet is quite valuable." 

    "Yes, Freeza." Vegeta's voice murmurs out low, yet strongly. He looks intensely at the abomination in front of him, not giving him the satisfaction of bowing in obedience. 

    "Don't fail me, Vegeta. The Chourui will be powerful allies." Vegeta nods, barely, in agreement. "Now go. Leave immediately and keep us updated on the situation." Freeza turns back away from Vegeta with a deviant smile across his wicked face. 

    Vegeta turns and leaves the Observatory, haste in his step, as he moves towards the "Mess Hall" in order to assemble a small force to aide in his mission. 

    The doors of the Mess Hall slide open effortlessly as he steps in front of it, before entering the room. "Nappa. Raditz." His voice bellows out, causing two men to jump straight up into attention. "We have a mission. Gather the minimal neccessities and meet me in the pod room, now." 

    "But, Vegeta, we just sat down to eat. What's a few gulps of food gonna matter?" The giant, bald saiyan warrior steps toward Vegeta, almost double his size. 

    Vegeta growls low in his throat. "I refuse to sit by and watch you stuff your mouth when there is a mission to be done." His hands ball into fists by his sides, the anger flaring up inside him. "I'm not going to tell you again, Nappa. We are leaving, immediately." 

    "Yes, Vegeta." Nappa sighs just barely, in defeat. His stomach lets out its own growl. 

    Vegeta turns and exits the Mess Hall, moving further down the corridor. _How dare Nappa even attempt to slack in his duties. _His feet pound the floor as he walks, trying to regain composure over his anger. 

    One of Freeza's minions walk past Vegeta, brushing his shoulder just barely with his own arm. 

    With a quick, flawles motion, Vegeta focuses his energy into a small, explosive ball and lets it loose upon the alien. The incredible force of the blast sends the alien reeling down the corridor until he can no longer be seen. 

    An impish smirk curls up on Vegeta's lips, his inner self feeling satisfied now. 

    He continues on his way to the pod room, not moving out of anyone's way, and giving them the same treatment as he did the other alien if any did not move back from his path. 

    Moments later, the Prince walks into the pod room. He looks the space pods over. Each one cyclical with only one window to view outside. He moves over to one. Almost magically, the door of the pod opens to the floor, revealing inside a chair and a small computer console. Vegeta steps inside the pod, seating himself in the chair and waiting on his two allies to arrive. 

    Minutes pass by, and with each passing, Vegeta grew more and more angry and impatient. "If Nappa is still stuffing that fat..." 

    Before his sentence finishes muttering from his mouth, Nappa and Raditz walk into the pod room, both with legs of meat in their hands, their teeth ripping at the flesh. 

    "Its about time you two half-wits decided to join this mission." Vegeta scowls at them. "Now get in your pods." He leans back in his seat, the door to his pod automatically closing. 

    Raditz and Nappa both get into their pods, tossing the bones of their food aside on the floor. 

    As soon as all three are situated in their pods, a portal in the ship opens out into space and the pods are projected out into space at lightning speeds. 

    "Course heading, Prince Vegeta?" A female, electronic voice sounds out from within the pod. 

    "The planet Torinosu." Vegeta sat back further into his chair, closing his eyes, letting his body go into a deep sleep as they travel a year and a half to their destination. 


	2. Chapter 2

Eternal Light  


    "Prince Vegeta..." At first, the voice sounds soothing, motherly. "Prince Vegeta..." Yet, as soon as the realism of the world strikes him, Vegeta awakens to the sound of the computerized voice. "Prince Vegeta, we are nearing Torinosu's orbit." 

    "Very well." He raises up in his seat, looking out the pod hole window, seeing the bright green planet they are approaching. _This shouldn't be too difficult of a mission. Shame... I'm in the mood for a challenge._

    The three pods stream into the orbit of the planet, moving at incredible velocities and plummetting toward the planet's suface. 

    On the planet... 

    "Mistress! Mistress!" A lanky, red-skinned male runs into the room. "Mistress, we have detected three space pods entering our atmosphere! They should be landing at any moment!" He comes skidding to a stop, falling into attention, and looking at the back of the thin, short woman standing in front of him. 

    The woman turns around and looks at him with her emerald green eyes. Her red braided hair flings around as she turns, going down over her shoulder and stretching down to her tiny waist. "I see, Hato. I suppose I shall meet our visitors in person." A small smirk crawls over her lips. "Rally a small group of fighters. Just to be precautious." 

    The man nods, watching the woman's body light up with a sparkling, translucent glow before disappearing completely. 

    The pods crash into the planet, leaving gaping craters covering the land. Clouds of compressed air billow up from the space pods as the doors lower to the ground. The three saiyans step out of their respective pods and out of the craters. 

    They raise their hands to shield their eyes from the overbearing light coming from the sun. Each take notice to the incredibly warm temperature of the atmosphere. Vegeta looks up into the sky, seeing the large sun, blaring brightly down onto the planet. 

    "This planet looks too peaceful, wouldn't you say, Vegeta?" Nappa smirks, crossing his overly muscled arms across his chest, as his eyes adjust to the new light. 

    Vegeta nods to him, lowering his eyes and surveying the land. He touches the scouter over his eye, trying to pick up the power levels of this planet's inhabitants. "Pathetic. Hardly any even reach 1,000." He rolls his eyes back a moment before the scouter starts going wild from a sudden explosion of power. He quickly turns around to see the red skinned, red haired woman standing there, staring at each of them, her eyes shining a bright green and her dress picking up the rays of the sun, giving off a metallic glow. 

    Nappa and Raditz both, turn around and look over her, not understanding how one with such high power levels that surpasses the range on their scouters can be one of the people of this planet. 

    "Welcome to Torinosu. I hope you've come here with no ill intentions..." A half grin curls on her lips, sensing just how strong these three are and knowing her own power level. 

    "Who are you?" Vegeta stands his ground, staring at her, knowing how rare a female is with that power level. 

    "My name is Suzaku, and I am the Guardian of this planet." She steps closer to them, the level of her power decreasing, as the glow of her body dims to nothing. "Now, who are you and what business brings you here?" 

    "We're Saiyans, and we've come here to," he pauses for a moment, "discuss the future of your planet." Vegeta smirks to her, crossing his arms over his chest as Suzaku steps up right in front of him. For him, its a rare occassion that he is able to stand taller to someone, giving him even more confidence in himself. 

    Nappa and Raditz chuckle to themselves about this woman being the "guardian" of the planet. To them, she looks so very fragile and delicate; easy to crush in the palm of their hands. 

    Suzaku's eyes glance over towards them for a brief moment with a cold glare, then back to Vegeta. "Let us continue this discussion back in the city. But let me warn you, any attempt to harm my people, that is not in self defense, will be dealt with severely. Understood?" Her tone conveys the seriousness of her threat. 

    Vegeta continues to smirk at her as he nods. "We'll be on our best behaviour." 

    Suzaku takes a few steps back from Vegeta, putting her hands together, letting her index fingers touch as well as her thumbs, making a diamond-shaped figure with her hands and pointing down towards the ground. A bright irridescent disc forms underneath them and rises up as Suzaku's hands move up. The disk continues to move up till it covers them completely, causing them to disappear. 


	3. Chapter 3

Eternal Light

    Within the walls of what looks to be a dining room, 10 guards stand ready with their weapons -- long staves with orbs on the end that glow brightly. Their bodies are tense, awaiting the arrival of the Guardian and the newcomers. The main guard stands with two jagged swords in his hands, crossed over his chest. His dark hair is pulled back in tiny braids and stretching down barely to his armored shoulders. Even though his eyes seem focused now, they become even more so when he sees the transporting light appear in mid-air in front of them. The light lowers down to the ground until Suzaku and the three Saiyans are visible; then the light fades. 

    "More of a welcoming committee?" Vegeta smirks still, looking over the guards and sensing their weak powers compared to his and his allies._ How could Freeza think that these pathetic creatures would be valuable allies to us? The only valuable one is the female._ He glances over at her_,_ seeing her staring back at him.

    Suzaku half grins. "You could say that." She turns her stare over to the main guard. "Karasu, you and the others may stand at ease now. Our guests have agreed to not cause trouble." 

    "Very well, mistress." Karasu and the other guards fall back towards the door, still ready to defend if need be. 

    Suzaku looks back at her guests. "So," she pauses and almost mockingly asks, "gentlemen, would you care for something to eat? You must be famished after such a long journey to our planet." Vegeta snorts just a little before nodding in agreement. Suzaku's grin spreads into a small smile as she looks over to one of the guards. "Go to the kitchen and inform the cooks to prepare a large feast." The guard nods and leaves the room. 

    An old, gray-bearded man looks over to Suzaku with an intense look in his eyes. _Is this truly wise, mistress? Inviting these... Saiyans... into our domain freely. _ He speaks mentally to her, and only to her. 

    _I don't see why it wouldn't be. I would much rather have them under watch and relaxed than have them going ahead and tearing apart our planet._

    _Yes, mistress._ The old man nods to her, lowering his eyes to the ground, knowing that once her mind is made up, it is never changed. 

    "Please, sit down. The food should be here shortly." Suzaku motions to the long elaborate dining table surrounded by chairs in a cozy yet spacious arrangement. The Saiyans move over and sit down at the table, as does Suzaku, who sits down at the head of the table. Her eyes never leave her guests. She knows of the Saiyans' warrior spirit and chaotic pasts.

    "Don't you care at all why we're here?" Vegeta leans back in his chair, looking at Suzaku. His eyes have been studying her, as hers' have been studying him since their meeting.

    "Oh, I know why you're here. Your reputation precedes you." Suzaku's smile fades a bit as she knocks Nappa's feet down from the table with her hand. "Apparently, Freeza never has bothered with teaching manners." She looks back towards Vegeta. "But we do not talk business at this table. We will speak more on this topic tomorrow." 

    The smirk still stays on Vegeta's lips as he stares at Suzaku. "Fine. We'll talk first thing in the morning." 

    Suzaku nods to him. "Yes, first thing in the morning. You should have no trouble in finding me." She smirks slightly to him. _There is something about this saiyan... He certainly is much stronger than the other two, but the fates have something completely different in store for him..._ "Though, there is one thing I must ask you?" 

    "And what's that?" 

    "Just who exactly am I speaking to? You merely told me that you were Saiyans, not what names to call you by." 

    "I am Vegeta, Prince of the Saiyans."

    Suzaku waited for Vegeta or the other two to say who there were, but nothing was said for countless moments. Impatience sits in as she continues to stare at him, wondering if he'll ever take the hint to finish the introductions. She lets out an annoyed sigh. "And you're two friends...?" 

    "Nappa and Raditz."

    "I see. Thank you for finally answering." She shakes her head a bit as Vegeta glares towards her. 

    The door to the dining room opens and the food is brought in, carried upon large platters held high above the servants' heads. They bring the platters over, setting them down in front of the Saiyans and Suzaku. 

    The food isn't on the table long enough to glance at before Nappa and Raditz plunge into it, ripping and tearing away at the flesh of what once was fish and eel-like meat. 

    Suzaku stares at them, one eyebrow raised with disgust in her eyes. Never before had she seen anyone lack enough manners to eat properly. They continue cramming large portion after large portion, leaving barely enough time to breath. She puts her hand over her mouth. "Ahem..." 

    They look up at her, Nappa having a string of meat hanging from his mouth. "What? Never seen a saiyan eat before?" He smirks, sucking up the string of meat. 

    "I've heard that your appetites were uncanny, but I never imagined that your eating habits could be so disgusting." She glances over at Vegeta, seeing that he has yet to touch his food. 

    "Inviting other races into your home for dinner and not expecting different habits is plain ignorance." He smirks at her, taking a rather hefty bite from the fish, spitting out the bones. 

    Suzaku's glance turns into a glare. "You're also forgetting that when someone is kind enough to invite you into their home you should at least have the common decency not to make pigs of yourself."

    The saiyans stare at her, with amusement in their eyes. "Just consider this as a compliment to your cooks, that the food is just too good." Raditz chimes in with his own patronization. 

    Suzaku sits back in her chair, arms crossing over her chest, omitting defeat in this futile battle. Sensing the victory, the saiyans go back to devouring their food fiercely. 

    Hours continue to pass and the saiyans ferocious appetites are now settled. "Ah, that long journey left me empty." Nappa lets out a tremendous belch.

    "Agreed. Lucky for us to have found such great cooks." Radditz chuckles to himself, leaning back in the chair.

    Suzaku sighs a little, looking over the Saiyans. She glances lastly at Vegeta, whose stare has become fixated upon her. She raises a brow, wondering why his stare is so intense. Uneasiness overwhelms her as she breaks away from their staring contest. _His soul is so dark, but with a glimmer of hope. Yet, to look in those eyes is almost to seal my own fate. Drowning pools of ebony. _She shivers slightly before standing. "It is time to retire."

    "But it's still daylight..." 

    "Yes, Nappa, it is still daylight. Torinosu has two suns. One on the northern hemisphere and one on the southern hemisphere. Darkness never truly sets in, only a slight dusk as our planet rotates. Do not fret, though, each of your rooms will have heavy shades, enough to give the illusion of night." She smiles faintly at him, not wanting to glance at Vegeta again in fear of being roped into his eyes. "An escort shall lead each of you to your rooms. You will be retrieved when it comes time for our discussion on your presence here." Suzaku bows slightly to them, before turning away to leave.

    A hand suddenly clasps down on her forearm. She spins only to meet Vegeta's eyes. "Just so you know, Saiyans are an impatient breed."

    The guards remaining in the room step forward, to protect their guardian. Suzaku raises her free hand, motioning them to back down. ";When morning comes, Prince Vegeta, I will awaken you personally to begin our discussions. Is that satisfactory?" He merely smirks to her, releasing her arm. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have other commitments to attend to." This time, she is able to walk away from the table and out of the room.

    Vegeta's eyes follow her every move; from the sway of her hips, to the ever slightest twist in her shoulders. _Even her stride is powerful. And the control of her powers.... I can not sense them in the least, yet that one time. She could have destroyed us in a blink of an emerald eye._ He shakes his head, banishing the thoughts from his mind.

    

Three escorts, all female, walk into the room. Each possessing their own beauty, yet none as exquisite as Suzaku. The saiyans stand as the women walk over to them, holding out their hands. Nappa and Radditz almost too eagerly take their hands and are lead from the dining hall. Vegeta stares at the woman, never touching her. She concedes and motions him to follow her to his room....


End file.
